We Come Back Every Time
by evanescentflame421
Summary: " 'Cause we never go out of style." Rai has made Kimiko angry once again. It's the same thing over and over again. Inspired by Taylor Swift's "Style". Rated T for hinting at things but there are way worse things in PG-13 movies.


**_A.N. Just a little background, this pretty much completely disregards XC, though the only noticeable difference is no Ping Pong and they're at their temple. This is my first attempt at RaiKim, so you've been warned. And yes, I did use a Taylor Swift song. "Style". Because Raimundo and Kimiko are forever._**

 ** _I watched XC on Netflix and it made me angry that there was like no RaiKim. WTF is up with that? Not okay with me. But it made me want to write, something I haven't wanted to do in a very long time._**

 ** _For the readers of my other stories, I will be updating soon. I think writing this out was the kick that I needed._**

 ** _Anywho, I hope you enjoy my first attempt._**

* * *

 _"We Come Back Every Time"_

Before Dojo could even touch the ground, a very angry warrior leapt the six-foot jump to the ground and sprinted away.

"Yeesh, she is not happy!" the dragon commented as he touched down.

"Yes, during our journey back I could feel the anger refrigerating off of Kimiko. It was most frightening," said a troubled Omi.

"That's 'radiating', little buddy." The Texan placed a comforting hand on the shorter monk's shoulder. "She'll be fine. She just needs some time to 'erself." Omi nodded then walked followed Dojo who had entered the temple. Clay then turned to his Brazilian friend who looked guilty and hurt at the same time. "You really did it this time, Rai. Just because your horse don't spook when you use your spurs, don't mean you should keep kickin' it."

The dark-haired monk rubbed his neck guilty. "Kimiko isn't a horse," he said glumly.

"Well I wouldn't've known that judgin' by the way you always take her on a ride!" the blonde said sternly. "What on earth were you thinkin', flirtin' with those girls? You're a handsome fella, Rai, we get it. We found the Wu, we were enjoyin' some time at the beach, then you had to go and upset Kim. You take off your shirt and girls flock to you. Kim gets attention too, but you don't see her pay 'em any mind. We all know you have feelin's for her, then you go pull a stunt like this!"

"Jeez man, I get it!" Raimundo finally snapped.

"Rai, it has been six years of you two goin' back 'n' forth. Y'all ain't kids no more. You two gotta make up your minds sometime. Best if it's sooner rather than later."

With that, the cowboy went inside the temple. It was late, so Raimundo would let her calm down and talk to her tomorrow. Or the day after that. Whenever it seemed like she wasn't in the mood to set him on fire.

* * *

The next morning Raimundo woke up early and polished off breakfast before any of the other monks awoke. He wanted to, for the lack of a better word, hide. He was still not ready to face Kimiko. He wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't sure what to do. Like Clay had said, they'd been going back and forth for years. Sooner or later they would have to put it to rest.

He spent the whole day away from the others. There wasn't much on the agenda anyway, so no one came looking for him. And neither of the other monks wanted to be with Kimiko and Raimundo before things were resolved. Rai and Kimiko have had their spats before and they can get ugly.

After a long day turned to night, the Brazilian finally thought it was time to talk to the Dragon of Fire who he had burned.

They had been through this enough times that he knew where she would be. He climbed up on the roof and leapt from building to building until he found the one she was perched on, gazing at the stars. Or glaring. Yeah, that was probably the more accurate term.

She was still pissed and he knew it. As he approached the figure, he braced himself for what was to come. This would either bring peace or start one of their infamous wars.

"So, finally realize that you can't avoid me forever?" the Japanese girl asked as she heard footsteps approaching. She didn't need to turn around to know it was him. "And you know that I'm at my most vulnerable in the middle of the night. My most calm. Because I hate going to bed angry."

He moved forward and took a seat next to her. He heaved a deep sigh, "Look Kim—" he started.

" 'I'm sorry for what happened. I don't know what I was doing, I was being an idiot. And a jerk.'" Kimiko joined him as he completed his thought.

She laughed humorlessly. "I know the speech, Rai. It's the same thing every time. I don't even know why we do this. We should just pretend like it's been done and move on with our lives. We're just repeating ourselves, so we might as well save our breath."

She looked at him, and when their eyes met something went off inside her. His eyes were the most amazing she'd ever seen. In them she saw something that made her want to never look away. The reason they always ended up in the same place. Before she could allow herself to get swept up in those eyes, she leapt off the roof.

She made her way to her room and he followed silently. Once inside, he discarded the upper half of his robe, preferring to be in his undershirt. Her room always seemed to be exceptionally warm. In the darkness, he could hear her rummaging through her chest for her pajamas. He heard her clothing hit the floor as she changed. He stole a glance, and even in the darkness her pale skin seemed to illuminate a bit.

"Umm, I can—" Raimundo began softly.

"It's nothing you haven't seen before," she pointed out, effectively silencing him.

She had changed in front of him before, in front of all of them before actually. Not that she went around stripping, but after six years of venturing around the globe there came times when they had to become really comfortable with each other. And of course, there were a few occasions where she and he took that comfortability to the next level. Very few, but they happened.

He waited silently until she joined him on the bed.

"I don't even know what to say, Rai. Three girls. You were flirting with all three." She shook her head disbelievingly.

"I mean, that must be a new record, right? In the six years I've known you, you've always taken an interest in the locals, but I don't think you've ever hit on three women at the same time. Not to mention the other girls you simply winked at as we walked past and onto the beach. This excursion was really impressive, Raimundo."

The girl crossed her arms across her chest and huffed. She leaned back to rest her head against the wall.

Thinking she was finished, the green-eyed monk started to say something when she shot back up and started again.

"This happens all the time! You know I have options, right? You know I don't have to sit back while you flirt up a storm? In fact, despite being in this temple for the majority of the past six years, I have dated! And I know you have had your share of women in Brazil when you visit home. You know that you're attractive, you know that you get attention wherever we go! Then I get upset, then randomly something will happen between us, and I don't even know what's happening. I _never_ know what's happening. And I know I have to share some of the blame for allowing myself to get caught in your whirlwind, but I can never seem to break out."

He grabbed her hand and she didn't pull away.

"Look Kim, you're right. I don't mean for it to happen. You and I… we've always been this thing. We've always been something and nothing at the same time. And I do hit on girls, I want someone to be with. There is so much shit that we've dealt with and been through together. We both have had our reservations, we've talked about this. Both of us have initiated something then backtracked. I will say that I have done it more often and more lately.

"Ever since we came here there's been something between us, but we were kids. Two thirteen year old kids who didn't know up from down, and I don't think we wanted to make things weird. But ever since the beginning, it's always come back to you."

She nodded in agreement. "The few boyfriends I've had, the dates I've been on, they always get compared to you. My schoolgirl crush never went away, it just morphed into something new."

"I don't think I'll ever get over my crush either."

Their gazes met and they both shifted so they were lying face to face.

In his eyes, she saw an apology. She also saw how much he cared about her. All the things she felt for him were matched in his stare. She saw devotion. She saw love.

In her eyes, he saw hope and forgiveness. He saw the passion that made her who she was. She wanted this as much as he did. She loved him just as much as he loved her.

Sure over the last six years, neither of them had really expressed it properly. They were always fighting it. They were always trying to talk themselves out of it, convinced they would do something to just hurt themselves. Ironically, that just led to them getting hurt anyway.

His eyes dropped down to her lips. Perfectly colored even without her makeup.

The first time they really kissed was the night he came back from the Heylin side. He remembered they had talked for a long time because he'd had a lot to explain to her. He had kissed her – as a thanks for kissing his cheek earlier that day. When he kissed her, he remembered realizing how nothing Heylin magic could have given him would ever compare to that. It felt like coming home. It was where he belonged.

He moved his lips next to hers and breathed, "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered.

It was the first time they had ever admitted it.

He closed the gap between their lips and it felt just like the first time. He kissed her fervently and she responded back with urgency. It was the first time they had truly embraced what they were, and they weren't wasting any more time.


End file.
